Under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture, Hassan Lakkis, the President of the Lebanese University, Professor Fouad Ayoub, the Mayor of Baalbek, Hussein Lakis, and the European Union, the Lebanese University - Faculty of Agronomy concluded the Forests Project in Baalbek, as part of the Agricultural and Rural Development Program funded by the European Union.

The closing ceremony, which was held in Baalbek, was attended by the two former Ministers of Agriculture, Hussein Hajj Hassan and Ghazi Zeaiter, MPs Ali Mekdad, Ibrahim Al-Moussawi and Ihab Hamadeh, the European Union Ambassador Christina Lassen represented by Jose Louis Vinueza, Baalbeck Maronite Bishop Hanna Rahmeh, Mufti of Baalbek, Sheikh Bakr Al-Rifai, the President of Baalbek Municipalities Union, Nasri Othman, in addition to representatives of political parties and the region's activists.

The master of the ceremony, Eng. Nasser Al-Toufayli, confirmed that this project, which began in 2014, is important to Baalbek, as trees are a source of nature beauty and air purity, and a green resistance that supports military and intellectual resistance.

The Faculty Dean, Professor Samir Al-Moudawar, said: “We are meeting today in the city of Baalbek, the city of the sun, science and civilizations to hand over Lebanon afforestation project funded by the European Union, in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture, which entrusted the Lebanese University with the mission of scientific and technical support to protect the environment and society".

Dean Al-Moudawar added: "It is true that the project is funded by the European Union, but the Faculty strives to be close to the citizen and to transfer knowledge to the society in all its fields. In this context, we assure everyone that the Faculty has carried out this mission in full transparency, professionalism and absolute cooperation with the municipalities and the civil society".

In his speech, the President of the Lebanese University, Professor Fouad Ayoub, praised the hard and meticulous work that has lasted for years, and all efforts that have been combined to make it successful and complete it on the part of institutions and individuals, as it is rich in content and ideal for its objectives.

Professor Ayoub stressed that "planting a tree" is one of the human concepts that is revered and valued by all religions as they contain principles and values that lead to the establishment of healthy societies with a healthy environment, and thus to the principle of "giving life" through afforestation and the principle of protecting the environment by purifying the air and stabilizing the soil, and embellishing the country.

He added that it is a great honor for the Lebanese University that the Faculty of Agronomy is a founding and effective partner of this wonderful project, which confirms that:

·         The Lebanese University brings together all the Lebanese sects and unites them around noble and independent scientific and humanitarian objectives that remove the divisions in the era of sectarian and confessional groups.

·         The Lebanese University is a national institution that improves the knowledge, thought and morals of the Lebanese people without any discrimination between region or family.

·         The Lebanese University is the nucleus of the future generation which should be a cradle for science, knowledge and research, in order to raise the level of science and culture in our society. We should work to revive the spirit of our university, maintain its leading academic role, and increase confidence in its ability to excel.

·         The Lebanese University should insist on keeping pace with the scientific development in the different stages of university education, making room for the emerging generations to choose a specialization compatible with the labor market and the openness to any development of knowledge, humanities, electronic and informational capacity, and twinning and cooperating with the oldest universities in the world.

For his part, Mr. Jose Louis Vinueza thanked all those who participated in the project for their efforts, speaking about the EU-funded project to plant 40 million trees in Lebanon and announcing that 147 hectares of afforestation have been planted in Lebanon, including 15 hectares in Baalbek, 65 hectares in Hasbaya and 5 hectares in Kawkaba.

Finally, he confirmed that the European Union will continue to support reforestation, afforestation and environmental projects in Lebanon.